Well, N. Harmonik and I were having our weekly hang out yesterday, and wouldn’t you know it? Episodes 1 & 2 of Pokémon Generations came out! So, if you haven’t watched them already, do so here…

…and now, our blind reactions to the first two episodes of this show. ^_^

…Say…We’ve now reached 899 blog entries on this site, haven’t we? As such, next time will be our 900th, and… … …Meh, what the hell. Next time, Jyger’s Favourite 5 episodes of my new favourite cartoon, Steven Universe. Ja né!

So, I’ve been playing Pokkén Tournament with N. Harmonik over at her place, which you can see here…

…and honest to God, Pokémon have never looked this good EVER in any other game. Maybe Smash Bros, but that’s it. But as I watch not only the Pokémon fighting, but the ones in the backgrounds of the arenas, I can’t help but notice how some have left so many great memories and positive thoughts for me. I think what really hit me was just how many from Pokémon Black and White are among some of my all-time favourites. Mind you, that could be because it had the most new Pokémon of any game since the original Red and Blue versions, since they’d decided to only have brand new ones in the main game. Still, it left me wondering, what would I consider to be some of my favourites from every generation?

So, I decided to make this questionnaire, so that everyone can list their six favourite Pokémon from every generation. I went with six because, that way, people can’t simply choose all the starters or all the members of a single family, and so that they can use their old teams to help decide, since some people, like N. Harmonik, choose to only use Pokémon that debuted within said generations for their teams (with the exception of old ones with new evolutions). Also, I’m listing these by Generation instead of Region because otherwise, most people’s Johto lists would be inhabited by evolutions that didn’t come until Generation IV. Lastly, I’m gonna be excluding Mega Evolutions, since they’d probably take up the majority of spots from lists for Kalos, but I will likely bring them up when talking about individuals from past Generations. With that said, let’s start with the original Generation, and my favourite Pokémon among the original 150.

Yeah, I know, not exactly blowing anyone’s minds that Poliwhirl’s on here. In fact, likely none of these are big surprises, and I probably don’t have to explain a single one. But looking back, I can’t help but think of how these six, in a lot of ways, helped shape how the Pokémon world would grow from then on. Every new entry in the main series would have an Electric-type rodent of some kind, a trio of Starters to choose from that were Grass, Fire, and Water-types, and at least one trio of Legendary Pokémon (with the exception of Generation VI, which seems to reuse Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres). There would also be mass numbers of Water-type Pokémon with varying shapes, sizes, abilities, secondary types, and even branching evolutions through the generations, many of whom took varying cues from Poliwhirl and its family. And…yeah, I’ve lost count of how many times in the history of these games that we’ve seen Snorlax sleeping around and blocking our path. lol My point is, in many ways, these six are the originators of trends we’ve seen in these games for 20 years now, and in many ways are still able to hang with those that have come since, either through new evolutions, Mega Evolutions, attacks, abilities, stat changes, or just their natural badassery. Oh, and don’t think that just because it isn’t on here that I hate or dislike Squirtle and its family. I love it too, but there just wasn’t room on this list. Call it the unofficial #7 here.

Despite the fact that a lot of Pokémon from Johto wouldn’t become truly great until Generation IV, where they got new evolutions, there are still plenty from those games that I have fond memories of. Typhlosion’s pretty easy to justify: Take Charizard, remove its secondary type, and give it a few tricks the former couldn’t do. The result is Typhlosion, and I think it’s a really solid choice from Gold, Silver, and Crystal. Crobat is basically the secret weapon that isn’t quite so secret, as most in the know are well aware of its incredible Speed, but just how many have overlooked it because of how common its initial form, Zubat, is? The answer is A LOT. Umbreon was always one of my favourite Eeveelutions, although it hasn’t aged well, but it’s hard not to put Espeon right up there with it. Heracross is a beast, always has been, always will be. And then there’s Donphan. I loved Donphan before I even knew its name. Just that first appearance in Pokémon The First Movie had me going “What is THAT?! That’s so awesome! It’s like an elephant that turns into a mad wheel or something!” And I don’t think I saw Pikachu’s Summer Vacation when I first I saw the movie, so that was the first time it really hit me that there was gonna be another Pokémon game. I mean, yeah, we had Togepi show up, but I thought that was just gonna be a special event Pokémon like Mew. Speaking of Mew, though, if I remember Generation II for one thing in particular, it would be how this was the point where the previously untouchable Psychic-types were becoming a little more touchable, and they only became more-so as time went on.

Generation III

My Favourites: Sceptile, Blaziken, Swampert, Breloom, Mawile, Lairon

Yeah, surprisingly, not as many big favourites from this Generation as most others. I say ‘surprisingly’, despite this being the Generation that lost a fair share of long-time players, because I actually was not one of those people. I stuck around, and I really liked Generation III. If I can think of one word to best describe it, it’d be, for a lack of a better term, advancement. We had the introduction of Abilities, Pokémon Contests, the Battle Frontier, and a bunch of other stuff. But anyway, the favourites I have from this Generation list still stand out to me. All three starters were pretty solid in their own ways, and I’d like to point out that I liked Swampert and its family before it was cool. Mind you, poor Sceptile was one of the few Pokémon that would be victimized by the physical/special split next Generation, and Blaziken, while cool, started a trend where, for three Generations, we had Fire/Fighting-type starters, and we got sick of it pretty hard. Mawile and Lairon were pretty much immediate favourites from the moment I saw them, just for how cool they looked, but it admittedly took a bit to realize how awesome Breloom was. When I figured it out, though, I felt like smacking myself. Breloom and Blaziken were also the start of what I consider the second Genesis of Fighting-types, though it wouldn’t be complete until what came next…

If Generation III is the start of the major advancement of Pokémon, then Generation IV was when said advancement was perfected. Lots of older Pokémon got brand new and much needed Evolutions. Stuff like the Contests were expanded upon. WiFi was utilized for trading and battling. But to me, the two biggest advancements can be seen in the favourites I chose here. The first is the physical and special split, where instead of being determined by type, whether an attack was physical or special was determined by the move itself and whether there was physical contact with the opponent. This was something that was needed from the START, from the very first games, and we finally had it here. The other major change was that, partially due to the split, and because of a few new attacks and abilities, and new Pokémon like Infernape and Lucario, Fighting-type Pokémon and attacks suddenly became a LOT more usable. In Gen 1, Fighting-types were not all that useful, especially since Psychic-types were so powerful. Generation II introduced Dark and Steel-types, which were weak to Fighting, and Gen 3 brought Pokémon like Blaziken and Breloom to shake up the Fighting-type. This, however, was the major turning point. And I know I’ve told this story before, but one of my favourite Pokémon from all of my playthroughs of the games is a female Lucario I named Tex, after the character from Red vs Blue, because of just how badass she is. Oh yeah, and Roserade is one of my favourite Grass/Poison-types of all time, and I think it’s only topped by Bulbasaur and its family in my eyes. And when you consider how many of those there are, that says a lot.

Again, like I said before, I was surprised to find just how many Pokémon from this Generation have left such great impressions on me. When I see Generation V Pokémon in Pokkén Tournament, I smile. A lot. Hell, the six Pokémon on this list are the members of my original team in Pokémon Black, and I still have plenty of other favourites beyond them, including Braviary, Haxorus, Volcarona, Pansage, and more. And it didn’t really hit me until Team Four Star mentioned it during their Nuzlocke Playthrough of LeafGreen just how ballsy a move Black and White, and Generation V in general, were. Black and White had all brand new Pokémon for the main story, and you couldn’t get anything else until after beating it for the first time. There was no third version, but two direct sequels, the first since Gold, Silver, and Crystal. And the games weren’t made for a brand new system, as you could get them for the Nintendo DS, but did have advantages presented for those that played them on the DSi. But yeah, Samurott is a great mixed attacker, Excadrill is insanely broken as shit, Sawk is a pretty good physical attacker and inheritor to Hitmonlee’s legacy, Cottonee is stupid good despite the fact that Prankster’s less favourable among Trainers nowadays, Emolga is adorable as shit and the first Electric/Flying-type since Zapdos, and Chandelure? Well, Chandelure has the highest Special Attack of all non-Legendary and non-Mega Evolved Fire-type Pokémon, and is a pretty handy Ghost-type, too. Mine had a Nature that was beneficial to Special Attack. Can you see where this is going? So yeah, having it be playable in Pokkén is kind of a treat for me, even if it is bizarre as shit to see in a major fighting game. ^_^

Despite the fact that X & Y feature the least amount of new Pokémon for any new Generation, there’re still plenty of good ones. And, of course, the thing that most people will ultimately remember Generation VI for is Mega Evolution, but like I said, I’m not including Mega Evolutions in this list, so brand new Pokémon for Generation VI only. That said, plenty here that I like a lot. Chespin is just too fucking adorable, not to mention tough enough to beat the Bug-type Gym Leader 2-on-1 with ease. Greninja seems to be a favourite among many, managing to make it as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. Talonflame breaks the tradition of the Pidgeot in that it is the first time we saw the super-common Flying-type evolve into something other than a Normal/Flying-type, and is pretty sweet. Vivillon doesn’t really do much that Butterfree couldn’t, but I like the different designs for it, and it’s still pretty solid despite having a type combination that we’ve seen a lot. Tyrantrum is badass and the first instance of a Fossil Pokémon based on a T-Rex, and I don’t know why it took so long to get it. And Sylveon is, in a lot of ways, outright broken due to the effects Pokémon get for the high levels of Affection that are required to get it, and is a brand new type that massively changes up the competitive battle scene.

So, those are my favourite Pokémon from each Generation. What are yours, though? Feel free to let me know (although you don’t have to go quite as in-depth as I did, lol) in the comments below. Also, lemme know which Pokémon you’d like to see either as DLC for Pokkén Tournament or in a sequel to the game. Ja né!

Y’know, when I write articles, generally speaking, I have no idea what the overall reaction to it will be, or how many views it’ll get. I am currently looking at my overall views on this blog, and at this exact moment, one of the top most viewed articles that I’ve written is Ash’s Best Team of 6 Pokémon, where I had the audacity to exclude Charizard. lol Seriously, to this day, I still get comments telling me that I should’ve added Charizard to the list. Well, if it makes anyone feel any better, the list is now somewhat out of date, because Ash has caught more Pokémon and the ones he already had have learned new moves and techniques. With that said, I really didn’t try to knock Charizard that much, despite how dumbfounded I was and continue to be to this day that he lost to a frigging Dusclops that even Bulbasaur, an unevolved Pokémon, was able to take down. But, for those that are huge fans of Charizard that were a bit miffed at me for excluding him, I apologize for any hurt feelings. It was just me giving my opinion.

But then I noticed some people leaving comments as to what their own teams would be. And then I thought about it and what I would make for my own team, if I had access to every Pokémon I’d ever caught throughout my years of playing Pokémon. And you’ll forgive me if my overall recollection of the various Pokémon I’ve caught throughout my LONG career is a little off, but I’ve been playing since the Red and Blue Versions. Also, I’m gonna try and limit this a bit to keep things interesting…

Only one per region. Granted, Pokémon that were introduced in past generations have made returns, but I’m only counting the one where they were first introduced, so this list will consist of one from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos.

NO LEGENDARIES. PERIOD.

One Starter Pokémon from the main series only.

Types can only be repeated on the team once, so, for example, no more than two Grass types.

Anyway, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s start off with…

Swampert

Two words: Mega Swampert. Even before I saw what it could do, I knew that Mega Swampert was gonna be amazing. Of course, Swampert on his own without Mega Evolution is still pretty badass. He can tank hits pretty well, he can bring the pain himself, and he’s only got a single weakness that, while common, isn’t 100% certain to come up or bring him down. The only problem is that he’s slow as all heck, so I gotta make sure that anything that can outrun him doesn’t also have the ability to put that much of a dent in him.

Cottonee

This was a tough call, because my favourite Pokémon from the Unova Region is actually Emolga. However, I had to go with Cottonee for overall usefulness and just how much he pisses opponents off. To answer your question, yes, he has Prankster. And yes, I pretty much abused the frak outta that with moves like Leech Seed, Substitute, and Toxic. And yes, I know the SubSeed strategy has limits, but if you’re facing someone that isn’t prepared for that, the sheer anger and frustration that they feel when they see it coming is just worth the risk, because then they start making mistakes. With that said, I really need to move him up to my later games, because I haven’t had a chance to utilize Cottonee since they became part Fairy-type.

Lucario, ‘Tex’

Why’d I name her Tex? Well…

Need I say anything more? 😛 Point being, like her namesake, Tex is a badass. A mixed attacker, she could just as easily take opponents down with pulse moves as she could in close quarters combat. And like my Cottonee, I REALLY need to bring her up to my later games, because if she was that much of an asskicking machine before, I can’t help but wonder what she’d be like after Mega Evolving. ^_^

Talonflame

Of all the basic Flying-type Pokémon to appear early on in a region, I think Kalos has the best one yet, simply by virtue of not being another Normal/Flying-type when she’s fully evolved. Of course, as I brought up in that OTHER article I did, because Talonflame is also a Fire/Flying-type, I need to always make sure to keep her as far away from Rock-types as possible, but if necessary, hit them as hard and as fast as I can with Steel Wing. Luckily, if there’s one thing Talonflame knows how to do exceedingly well, it’s hit hard and fast. Also, just from personal experience, while it’s not the best move out there, Me First is a great way to annoy the crap outta people. Plus, just the name Talonflame sounds so awesome. lol

Gengar

Gengar continues to be one of the coolest and creepiest frakking Pokémon EVER. And for those that are bothered by that, for the love of God, do not Mega Evolve yours like I did mine, she is frigging terrifying. XD Anyway, I tend to wanna open with Toxic while using Gengar, then unloading with either Hex or Venoshock. And just for those pesky Dark-types, Dazzling Gleam makes for a good fourth slot. Also handy in case you’re ever stared down by a pair of Dragons, which admittedly happens a lot less nowadays than it used to.

Politoed

You know me, gotta be representin’ the Poli family. ^_^ And yeah, I know, the overall usefulness of Drizzle isn’t exactly what it used to be, but honestly, that might actually work out for the best here. After all, what if Politoed starts some rain and then Talonflame comes out and gets her Fire-type attacks nerfed as a result? Plus, for that short time that the rain is on, Politoed and Swampert could level the opposition, Politoed with his Special Attacks, Swampert with his Physical Attacks. And granted, Politoed probably wouldn’t last long on the field, but I always know I can trust him to start battles off on my terms.

Anyway, that’s all for my list, but what about yours? Show me your team of six from the different regions in the comments section below. Ja né!